Medical Teams International | Official Blog

Get the latest updates from our programs in the field internationally and here in the United States.

Your gifts are making a difference in the fight to stop the spread of Ebola. We recently received a report from Liberia about a closed medical facility. The clinic was closed until MTI came by and conducted an infection prevention and control training and monitoring. Now, this clinic is open and providing desperately-needed medical services for the community. The clinic is helping Ebola patients as well as providing medical care for those non-Ebola patients who urgently need help.

Medical Teams International is working to support 334 health facilities in Liberia. A donation of $1,000 supports one clinic in a month, keeping it open and providing quality care to families in desperate need of urgent care – with and without Ebola.

The annual Project Connect event occurred on September 13th. Project Connect is a one-day event that offers free services to those who are struggling to make ends meet or experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon. MTI participates by sending our mobile dental vans and volunteers.

The biggest draw was the dental clinic. Nearly 200 people checked in to the clinic to receive fillings, extractions, and misc. dental work, in addition to cleanings and x-rays.

There was over twenty-three dentists, fourteen hygienists, and twenty-five assistants. That doesn't include the
laypersons that helped with paper work, escorting and medical triage.

The two sectors of the Central Oregon population that was represented were those
that are on Medi-care and have no dental insurance.

About 10% where homeless, and 89% are below poverty level of income.

After doing this job for almost 8 years, I am still taken aback by the spirit of gratefulness
that the patients all share. They express it to everyone all the way through the process.
Many of them wait in line most of the day. They
don't complain and are surprisingly pleasant for waiting an average of four hours.
They are in pain and have been for a long time. For many of them, this is their only
chance at getting ANY dental care. They know that at least once a year the doors for
dental care are open to them and they can come without judgment to receive dental
services.

The volunteers, many work all day, with only a few minutes' break for the restroom
and take a bite to eat. They do so with a joyful heart. You don't
hear anyone complaining, judging or critizing. They work like little army ants.
I am proud to be a part of this event.

Only five hundred people live in the small village of Khin Ann Gyi in Myanmar, where the nearest health center is 15-20 minutes away by motorbike. Medical Teams International has only been working here since January, where we are providing community health training and maternal & child healthcare programs, thanks to your generous gifts.

Our U.S. staff was curious to hear from the Community Health Volunteers how they felt about the short time MTI has been helping them.

"Previously we didn't know much about keeping healthy. We are very open to the teaching. When someone is sick, they cannot work. We want to learn more about how to manage illness with medicines. We want to learn preventative measures."

Field Coordinator Saw Kar Ha Htoo says, "I am doing God’s work here. I normally walk 4-5 hours, sometimes 7 hours in rainy season to get to one of my villages. Most of us are young men because we have to travel so far alone. We are trained in basic health knowledge."

"I have delivered over one hundred babies. Now I am teaching my daughter and granddaughter," says Daw Tin Kyi, a 71-year-old midwife who is being trained by MTI.

Your donations to our Asia programs are making a difference! Thank you for your generosity and your willingness to come alongside us to rise, mobilize, and make a difference!

We just received a few photos from our team in Liberia of your gifts in action. The team visited four clinics as part of our goal to safely reopen closed health clinics and help them stay opened - to help patients with and without Ebola.

One of the clinics was in the middle of a slum. Very cramped and equally dirty, it was trying to stay open and still doing birth deliveries. The owner personally purchased PPEs (personal protective equipment) to help keep the clinic operational. MTI staff and volunteers demonstrated the use of protective gear and the clinic staff gratefully practiced and reviewed the clinic quality checklist.

Thanks to your gifts, MTI can teach health care workers how to safely protect themselves from Ebola. Your donations are making a difference as you read this. Thank you for your incredible selflessness to help the people of Liberia. Donate today.